Easter Week Devotional - What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?

Judas. We hear his name and we wince.

We know what he did. And we can’t believe it.

Jesus’ own disciple. Selling Him out.

The chief priests didn’t go to Judas. Judas went to them.

He approached them. He opened the door for the betrayal. He sought them out.

It had to happen. Jesus had to be betrayed. Had to suffer. Had to die.

It was the only way.

But to have someone who walked with you every day. Who heard your words.

Who saw the miracles. To have that person willingly go and look for a way to hurt you. It seems unfathomable to us. We would never.

Except we do. Every day.

We hear about Judas and it shocks us. But it shouldn’t.

Because we openly betray Jesus too.

We run to hand Jesus over for our pleasure.

We want to walk with Him. We want to stay in the company of His Word. We want to witness the miracles. But we are drawn by the pull of the world.

We desire to know what it can give us. We want to know our options.

So, we hand Jesus over.

And act as if our sin is not even close to being like Judas.

Except it is.

God sees what we say. God sees what we do. God sees how we act.

Around those we love. And those we don’t.

We can argue. And justify. And disagree. But God knows our heart.

He sees how our pride won’t let us forgive. He sees how our arrogance won’t allow us to believe we are wrong. He sees how we puff ourselves up. How we choose to honor ourselves first. He is not fooled by the facade.

And He longs for us to turn back.

We cannot live for the world and live for Him too. There is no middle ground.

And so, like Judas, we have a choice.

Will we willingly hand Jesus over, so that we can please ourselves?

Or will we choose to put His desires above our own?

This Easter Week, we see Jesus headed to the Cross.

Willingly.

So that we might have life.

May we see this sacrifice. May we allow it to change us.

And may we choose, always, to live that life for Him.

REFLECTION: 

In what ways have you chosen the world over the Lord?

How has Jesus' sacrifice changed your life?

Who in your life is drawn closer to Christ by your example?

Dear God,

We thank you for this day and for this Easter Week. We thank you for another opportunity to do Your will. Forgive us our sins, Lord. Forgive every time we choose the world over choosing You. Forgive us Lord, for seeing Judas' betrayal and not seeing our own. Forgive our arrogant hearts. May we seek to draw closer to You. Not just this week, but a permanent change. A lasting closeness. May temptations not overcome us. May we stand strong in the face of adversity. And have the courage to remain standing when others grow weak. May we live a life that brings You honor. May we always seek Your glory. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.

Colleen LaQuay Urbaniuk

2026

Keep your eyes on Jesus

Peter found himself in trouble. He saw someone walking on the water towards his boat. 

He thought it was Jesus, but he wasn’t totally sure. And so he questioned Him. And asked Him to prove it. “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” 

And Jesus said, “come.” 

Peter stepped out of the boat and started walking on the water towards Jesus. He was okay at first. Everything was going exactly as expected. But then he took his eyes off Jesus. 

And everything started going terribly wrong.

He began focusing on the wind. On its strength. On its ability to hurt him. He became afraid. And his fear became bigger than his faith. As he started to doubt, he also started to sink. It was nighttime, so the situation must have felt even more dire. 

Darkness has a way of doing that. Making things seem scarier than they are. 

He cried out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!”

And immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. Jesus didn’t hesitate. It’s important to remember that. Because that means He was watching Peter. That means He had His eye on him. 

You can’t respond immediately if you aren’t paying attention. 

When you’re facing your own doubts. Your own weaknesses. When you’ve lost confidence. And had to quickly adjust from everything going right, to everything going wrong. Remember who to look to. Remember who to call on. 

It doesn’t matter what it looks like. It doesn’t matter how dark it gets. 

Call out to Jesus. Ask Him to save you. Believe that He will respond. 

Believe that He won’t hesitate. 

And believe that, even in the moments you’ve taken your eyes off Him, He’s never taken His eyes off you.

Do you believe Jesus is able?

A simple question. Requiring an honest answer. Two blind men had approached Jesus. They wanted Him to heal them. And so Jesus asked them if they believed He could. He asked them if they thought He was able. And they responded with a simple “yes, Lord.” But in those simple words, was everything Jesus needed to hear. 

Yes, we believe. Yes, we think you are able. Yes, we believe you are Lord.

“According to your faith will it be done to you,” Jesus responds. And their sight was restored. 

According to YOUR faith will it be done to you. According to what YOU believe. According to what YOU have decided in your heart.

Will it be done to you.

They came to Jesus and asked for help. And He asked a simple question. 

“Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

And He asks the same of us today.

With our addictions. With our diseases. With our fractured relationships. And broken hearts.

When we don’t know where we fit in. Or where we belong.

When the weight of so many responsibilities has us overwhelmed and exhausted.

When we’re blind. And cannot see.

Do we believe? Do we think He is able? Do we know that Jesus is Lord?

Oh, Lord that we would have this faith. This simple faith that just believes and doesn’t doubt. The faith of two blind men, who had never seen you but believed. The faith that gave them the boldness to approach you. The faith that gave them the courage to ask. The faith that knew in their hearts, that you were the one. That you ARE the one. Give us that faith, Lord. Where despite everything, we believe. That we go to you with our needs. That we trust you for our help. That it’s you we seek out. That it’s you we ask. Forgive us, Lord, when we’ve placed our faith in this world instead of you. May from this day forward, you never have to ask where we stand. May the words of our mouth, and the meditations of our heart, forever give witness to the faith we have in you. In Jesus’ Name we pray.

Would Jesus Do It Again?

When Jesus looks at this world and all the chaos, do you think He regrets His choice?

Do you think He wonders if His wounds were worth it?

If all the lashes, all the pain, all the misery...still equaled a world that continued to blaspheme Him, would it be fair for Him to second guess His decision?

When He watches our continued indifference. 

Our lackluster faith.

Our blessings that we take for granted.

Our refusal to stand up for Him.

Our preference of making Church an option. 

Our singing of music that worships the world.  

Our downright allowing the devil to come into our homes.

Do you think He shakes His head?

 

Do you think when we pray our quick prayers, which we fit into whatever corner or crevice in our heart that has room, it brings Him joy?

Do you think He feels honored by it?

When Jesus looks, really looks, at a world that is just as bad as when He came, do you think He wishes He never came at all?

Jesus was ridiculed for us. He was beaten for us. He gave His life for us.

Jesus died to save us from our sins, and yet we still keep sinning. 

When will it be enough for us?

When will it be enough for Him?

Jesus WILL be coming back.

But will He be coming back for me?

And will He be coming back for you?

I Never Knew You

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Matthew 7:21-22